What About Bob? (1991)

A successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, an obsessive-compulsive neurotic, tracks him down during his family vacation.

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Alvin Sargent (story), Laura Ziskin (story)

Stars:

Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss, Julie Hagerty

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	Bob Wiley
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Dr. Leo Marvin
Julie Hagerty	...	Fay Marvin
Charlie Korsmo	...	Siggy Marvin
Kathryn Erbe	...	Anna Marvin
Tom Aldredge	...	Mr. Guttman
Susan Willis	...	Mrs. Guttman
Roger Bowen	...	Phil
Fran Brill	...	Lily
Brian Reddy	...	Carswell Fensterwald
Doris Belack	...	Dr. Tomsky
Melinda Mullins	...	Marie Grady
Marcella Lowery	...	Betty / Switchboard Operator
Margot Welch	...	Gwen / Switchboard Operator
Barbara Andres	...	Claire / Dr. Marvin's Secretary

Storyline

Doctor Leo Marvin, an egotistical psychotherapist in New York City, is looking forward to his forthcoming appearance on a "Good Morning America" telecast, during which he plans to brag about "Baby Steps," his new book about emotional disorder theories in which he details his philosophy of treating patients and their phobias. Meanwhile, Bob Wiley is a recluse who is so afraid to leave his own apartment that he has to talk himself out the door. When Bob is pawned off on Leo by a psychotherapist colleague, Bob becomes attached to Leo. Leo finds Bob extremely annoying. When Leo accompanies his wife Fay, his daughter Anna, and his son Siggy to a peaceful New Hampshire lakeside cottage for a month-long vacation, Leo thinks he's been freed from Bob. Leo expects to mesmerize his family with his prowess as a brilliant husband and remarkable father who knows all there is to know about instructing his wife and raising his kids. But Bob isn't going to let Leo enjoy a quiet summer by the lake. By ...

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Plot Keywords:

obsessive compulsive disorder | vacation | patient | psychotherapist | neurotic | 

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Taglines:

Bob's a special kind of friend. The kind that drives you crazy!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

¿Qué tal, Bob?

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,216,334, 19 May 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$63,710,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The two buildings shown when Bob arrives at the lake from New York are in Moneta, VA, near Smith Mountain Lake. The blue building really was a general store and coffee shop. The red building used as the bus station in the movie is in real life a produce warehouse called Moneta Produce.

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Goofs

When the Good Morning America crew arrives for filming, the Sigmund Freud bust is on the mantle in the background. When the crew actually begins filming, the bust has been replaced by duck decoy for the full filming sequence.

The film crew is shown trying to decide exactly where and how to shoot the sequence. The shot then follows Bob and Leo outside while the film crew is setting up. It's not unreasonable to think that the crew would move things around to appease their own aesthetic (switching the bust for the duck). They were given plenty of time to do it in (20 seconds of screen time plus however long during the cut).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bob Wiley: I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful...

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Alternate Versions

The television version has replaced footage of several scenes wherein Bob and Siggy exchange insults while faking Tourette's Syndrome. In the replaced footage, they are faking "Buddy's Disease," and the insults are significantly toned down.

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Connections

Referenced in Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Greg and Larry (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Brady Bunch Theme
from "The Brady Bunch (1969)"
Music by Frank De Vol
Lyrics by Sherwood Schwartz
Performed by The Brady Bunch

User Reviews

What about Bill!

It might be a little simplistic to call this "Bill Murray's Movie",because in truth,this film works just as well because it has a fantastic support from Richard Dreyfuss,Julie Haggerty,Charlie Korsmo,KAthryn Erbe and director Frank Oz. Still,you cannot watch this film without feeling like Murray's complete abandon in this film is what gives this film its pep,spark and life. This might be one of the more energized performances of his long and well-padded career.

Dr.Leo Marvin(Dreyfuss,who has settled into being the 'Uptight fuddy-dudd' roles from here,as opposed to the more restive,youthful roles of past movies like "Jaws" and "Goodbye Girl")seems to have it all. Loving wife,healthy,normal kids and a career that is on the verge of taking off:a comfortable private practice in New York and a self-help book about to be published nationwide. At the last minute,he accepts another colleague's patient(for whom he does not wonder as to why his peer is so breathlessly trying to pass this patient off to him):one Bob Wiley(Murray). Bob doesn't have anything wrong with him;he has MANY things wrong with him. Multiphobic,clingy and more than a little under-developed in his sense of emotional attachment,Bob misreads the good doctor's brush off(As the doctor gets ready for a Labor Day getaway with his famille)as being a cure-all,and is immediately smitten with the doctor's methods,approach,diagnosis and treatment. He decides he's going to insinuate himself into Dr.Marvin's life(in somewhat of a mixture of gratitude and need),and follows him to the rural,New England lakeside vacation where the Marvins are staying.

Alvin Sargent and Laura Ziskin's story and script make the actors' moves and lines so easy you'd almost think there were elements of improvisation. But Murray and Dreyfuss are(and not to belabor a point here but...)the key here. Murray's socially oblivious and free sense of bonding clashes DRAMATICALLY with the button-down professionalism of Dreyfuss' doctor,and as Muray thinks himself "Better",Dreyfuss' shrink seems to be getting worse,confounded by his unwanted patient's persistence and loyalty. While the unabashed enthusiasm of Murray's character might drive away some viewers who might see this as "annoying" or "too much", Murray fans and,I think,fans of sort of odd,non-formula comedies will DEFINITELY appreciate the whole story and rhythm of this film. Perhaps it's a bit too early to state this(though this film,which I first caught in the theaters in first release sixteen years ago,has had more than a decade to simmer in the memories of moviegoers),I feel this is something of a modern comedy classic. I've seen this film no less than three times and,to chime in with an IMDb message board poster,this IS a truly re-watchable movie.